Category Archives: North and South

I’m still on RA sabbatical, but more importantly, I’ve had things shaking up in RL too.

I had written more about it, but decided to move it to a separate post.

Aaaaaaanyway, it’s not all been about wake up calls and climbing out of comfort zones, which has done me a world of good btw.

I’ve also continued doing things like cross-stitching to relax me and focus my monkey brain (not to mention that when you’re busy holding your needle, thread and canvas, you can’t exactly be shoving food in your gob…).

I’ve completed a bunch of cross-stitch projects, but felt a staggering lack of designs that were… a little closer to my fangirling home…

So, what’s a fangirl to do when what she wants hasn’t been done yet?

Why, she rolls up her sleeves and does it herself!

This is still very much a work in progress and to say I’m free-styling it is a staggering understatement, but can you tell who’s emerging?

This is actually the first part, I’m trying to figure out cross-stitch Thornton, am contemplating Margaret and thinking about fonts and Victorian borders to create a nice pretty North and South image that will be easy to do, even for beginners.

The main issue I have is that poor Thornton dresses like an undertaker and I refuse to spend my time stitching Margaret’s drab brown gown, so I’ve been trying to figure out the clothes designs and colours (you can take a girl from fashion design college, but you can’t take that anal way of thinking about garments out of the girl…).

I also need to think how to create a cross-stitch pattern on my computer so I can share the pdf with others (any help/advice/tutorials very much appreciated).

I hope you all did your homework from yesterday and have thoroughly researched the answers to the quiz questions!

You can also get your hands on Trudy’s latest book In Consequence which is a corker, so check out the giveaway info 🙂

and now, here are ….

Trudy’s PET PEEVES regarding North and South

(John withers away insipid comments with one penetrating stare…)

Mind you, I’m aware that my passion for my favorite book/film can get rather geeky and intense. But I’ve spent the last four years thinking about and discussing Gaskell’s story and characters. Forgive me.

#1 The constant comparison of Gaskell to Austen and North and South to Pride and Prejudice. Must every story with a failed proposal set in the horse and buggy days hearken us back to Austen’s patented plot? Couldn’t we look at Gaskell’s merits as a writer based on her own style and subject material? Austen and Gaskell aren’t even from the same era for crying out loud! Bronte and Dickens seem more likely comparisons for the passion and social issues dealt with in North and South. I know this annoying occurrence will never cease in my lifetime but …Grrr!

#2 The half-knowledge behind the oft-repeated fact that Gaskell was rushed to finish her ending. Yes, Dickens forced her to hurry her story’s conclusion during the serial publication of N&S in his magazine. It’s a tasty tidbit of history that sticks in the mind. Poor Gaskell – that mean ol’ Dickens! However, what many don’t realize or remember is that Gaskell went back to add two whole chapters and embellish other sections of North and South before it was published as a book. She left that end scene alone. Hmm…. ( psst! I loved the ending in the book! for more about Gaskell’s ending see my post at WestofMilton here: LINK)

#3 That PBS/Masterpiece missed airing North and South in the US. Will we ever know the mystery behind this omission? I’ve heard a few theories, but I’ll never get over this disservice to the American public. If PBS is meant to bring fine art to the masses, they certainly missed sharing one of the BBC’s finest period dramas…. and the best kiss scene ever recorded on film.

#4 Interpretations of John and Margaret based solely on the first half of the book/story. I have to wonder if some people really saw/read the whole thing. Granted that the first half is all spitfire and clashing, but the second half in which each learns to deeply consider the other’s perspective is beautifully, if more subtly, drawn. I can’t fathom that Gaskell intended her characters to stay the same throughout the arc of the story. So pardon me if I disagree wholeheartedly with those that believe that Margaret and John would be forever clashing on ideology and social morality. Where’s the proof of that in the unfolding events, actions, and words of the second half?

Does this look a girl who still holds grievances about the Master’s character and business practices?

#5 The lousy introduction to the book in the Penguin edition. This almost ruined my appetite for reading the book the first time around. With a heavy emphasis on sexual symbolism and the power struggle between male and female positions, this analysis of Gaskell’s work sapped most of the deeper meaning out of the story and highlighted the dry, intellectual wrestlings that academics feed upon. I’d like to have it out with Patricia Ingham, Ph. D. on a few of the aspects concerning John and Margaret’s relationship that I feel she interpreted completely wrong.

BOOK GIVEAWAY!

Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of In Consequence! The winner will be announced next Thursday.

Now’s the perfect chance to chat with me, ask me something, or (gasp!) disagree with my interpretation of the story and characters. I’d love to hear from you.

Quiz Answers:

1.) Margaret is 18 in the opening scene of the book.

2.) The Lennox family is from Scotland.

3.) Anna Beresford married General Shaw. damn! missed that one!

4.) Adam Bell.

5.) Bessy

6.) Helstone is not too far from Southampton. It’s mentioned that Mr. Hale walked there once from the vicarage.

7.) George Leonards (from Southampton) had a job as a railway porter at the time of the incident.

8.) Maria and Richard Hale.

9.) False. It’s not possible to draw an accurate calendar of the events as they are indicated in the book. The Thornton dinner is on the 21st of July, yet Gaskell has Margaret going to Marlborough Mills for the water mattress three days later under “an August sun.” Frederick also arrives much too early on the scene after Margaret has written for him. (Where was the Dickens’ editing hand here I wonder. lol.)

10.) Aunt Shaw had a lap dog named Tiny.

11.) Frederick married Delores Barbour.

12.) Hannah reads from the Bible every night to the household. She tries to read from Matthew Henry’s Commentaries as she awaits John’s return from the proposal.

13.) Hannah remembers “a little daughter – dead in infancy.”

14.) False. The Great Exhibition is never mentioned in Gaskell’s work.

15.) True. In the book, Mr. Thornton learns that Margaret has a brother from Mr. Bell.

16.) True. Higgins calls Thornton a bulldog in the book as well.

17.) Thornton saw Helstone on his return from Le Havre.

18.) True. John attends both Mrs. and Mr. Hale’s funerals without Margaret knowing he has done so.

19.) Mr. Colthurst is a the vaunted guest at the dinner party in London.

20.) d. It has been two years of struggle and heartache since John first declared his love the day after the riot and that private meeting sans Henry in Aunt Shaw’s back drawing room.

Fellow Richard Armitage/North & South connoisseur and author extraordinaire Trudy Brasure has accepted my invitation to share with us her take on Gaskell’s masterpiece and she’ll be spoiling us today and Friday, so make sure you stop by.

Most of you are familiar with Trudy’s writing as she has long been considered one of the most notable fanfiction turned published authors with an uncanny ability to capture our Mr Thornton and make us fall for him hard all over again.

I leave you in the capable hands of my guest blogger and one of my most favorite N&S continuation authors (not to mention a thoroughly lovely person…):

Trudy Brasure

Five things you probably didn’t know about me:

1. I had a great childhood. As one of nine children, I was surrounded mostly by brothers. Boys? Yeah, we got ’em. I faked my first crush in school to fit in with the crowd. Heck, I didn’t find boys that mysterious or enchanting in those pubescent years.

2. My obsession before I discovered John Thornton/Armitage was … um… Abraham Lincoln. What can I say? I love a good, brooding man in a top hat.

3. My first plane ride was from Toronto to Paris – alone, at age 17 – to stay for a month with the family of the exchange student our family had hosted the summer before. Unforgettable adventure for a small town girl from Pennsylvania.

4. I’m the organist/pianist on Sundays at the church I attend. All those years of piano lessons were not wasted!

5. I’ve never been to England! I know, I know…. it’s really quite presumptuous of me to write stories set in a place I’ve never been. Thank goodness for my British editor. I’ve been close, though! My husband and I spent our honeymoon in Ireland and Scotland.

Get your pencils (or quills) ready for QUIZ TIME!

(John has studied hard for this.)

Think you know North and South? I’ve seen a few fun quizzes posted here and there. But they were too easy. Try this mean baby if you’ve read the book. Hey, if you’ve read my stories you might be able to answer a handful of these. Level: Wicked

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post for the answers!

1. How old is Margaret at the time of Edith’s wedding?

2. Where is the Lennox family from?

3. What military rank did Aunt Shaw’s late husband hold?

4. What is Mr. Bell’s first name?

5. Is it Bessy or Bessie?

6. What is the port town nearest Helstone?

7. How did Leonards happen to be at the station to discover Fred?

8. What are Mr. and Mrs. Hale’s first names?

9. True/False: Gaskell was a master of precision in writing the sequence of events.

10. What pet did Aunt Shaw have?

11. What is the name of Frederick’s intended (and later, wife)?

12. Name one of the books that Hannah Thornton reads from.

13. What personal tragedy did Hannah silently recall during her visit with the dying Mrs. Hale?

14. True/False: The Great Exhibition is mentioned in a conversation between Thornton and Mr. Hale.

15. True/False: Thornton discovers that Margaret has a brother from Mr. Bell.

16. True/False: Higgins calls Thornton a bulldog.

17. Mr. Thornton made a point of visiting Helstone while returning from a business trip to what venue?

18. True/False: Mr. Thornton attends the funeral of both Margaret’s mother and father.

19. What is the name of the member of parliament who comes to dinner at Aunt Shaw’s house in the penultimate chapter?

20 . How much time passed between Thornton’s post-riot declaration of love and the final scene in London in which Margaret offers her fortune to Thornton? (a.) six months (b.) a year (c.) 18 months (d.) two years

BOOK GIVEAWAY!

If you loved the angst and repressed passion Richard portrayed as John Thornton in North and South, you’ll love my new story! In Consequenceputs a twist in the story at the time of the riot which spins the developing story of love and attraction in a whole new direction. Available for free at C19 and Wattpad, In Consequence is also for sale as a Kindle book at Amazon. It will soon be available in print and as a Nook, ibook, etc. as well.

Leave a comment on this blog post for a chance to win a copy of In Consequence– paperback or Kindle. (worldwide) The winner will be announced next Thursday, February 6th.

Share what you love most about N&S, ask me a question, or talk to me about my story or Gaskell’s. There’s nothing I enjoy better than engaging in discussion about North and South!

Coming up tomorrow: Trudy’s pet peeves regarding all things North and South as well as the answers to the quiz!

As I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve become enthralled with The Forsyte Sagaand I’ve threatened to continue subjecting my dear readers to more scattered thoughts on the plot and characters, so here it goes…

Today I will be focusing on the, in my opinion, central relationship in the series, meaning that of Soames Forsyte and Irene Heron.

I’ll be doing so by comparing them to another favourite pairing of mine, Margaret Hale and John Thornton from North and South.

Let me start by stating my opinion and them I’ll spend the rest of the post trying to claw my way back up from the hole my statement has created.

The difference between the outcome of the Forsyte relationship and the Margaret+Thornton one is determined not by the amorous men, but by the women they loved.

If we compare Soames and Thornton, they actually have a lot in common

Both are respected members of Victorian society, successful, admired and come from tight-knit families.

They are viewed as authorities, but deep inside they have issues of low-self esteem, though the origins are different.

Despite their cool exteriors, under those well-cut expensive clothes beats a heart full of passion and they both fall for women who society would deem beneath them as both Irene and Margaret are plain old skint.

What’s even more interesting is that both gentlemen develop feelings for, and woo, women who simply don’t like them.

Despite knowing that their affections are not reciprocated, but encouraged by others (Irene’s step-mother, Hannah Thornton), against their better judgment, they both propose marriage.

This is where the seemingly correlated stories depart.

I argue that it is Irene and Margaret who determine the outcome of their respective plots by the decisions they make at this crucial juncture.

Irene Heron is under the guardianship of her pragmatic step-mother and they are living on a tiny income generated from her deceased father’s estate.

Mrs Heron is desperate to get rid of her beautiful step-daughter as she has plans to re-marry and feels that Irene attracts too much attention from men.

When Soames Forsyte appears, a wealthy bachelor from a prominent family who is clearly enthralled by Irene, Heron’s widow bullies Irene into accepting the man who is so very different from what she envisioned her true love to be.

It’s this crucial decision to marry a man she doesn’t even like that sets the stage for all the following events.

In her last act of independence, or maybe in an act of sheer desperation, Irene forces Soames to promise that he will let her go if their marriage is not a success.

Although Soames seems like a man who keeps his word, she would soon learn that her husband is nicknamed The Man of Property for a reason and that he would never allow that which he possesses to be taken away from him.
Therefore, Irene is trapped in an unhappy marriage to a man who, although passionately in love with her, makes her skin crawl.

When John and Margaret find themselves at the point where marriage seems like the most logical option, and Miss Hale’s reputation hangs in the balance, instead of taking the easy way out, she acts on her pride and stubborn nature to decline his offer.

Of course Margaret is in slightly different circumstances than Irene as she has the support of her family and her financial situation does not force her to accept the marriage proposal from a wealthy bachelor.

Let’s for a moment, as some N&S fanfiction authors have before, imagine how the story would progress had Margaret accepted Thornton.

She would be tied to a man that she, of her own admission, didn’t like and felt was beneath her, someone who was in trade and would treat her as a commodity to acquire.
By moving to Marlborough Mills she’d lose her independence and would be forced to become a member of a tight-knit family who thought very little of her.

Forced into such circumstances, the natural growth of affection that we observe in Gaskell’s story, would probably never have taken place.

Mr Thornton would marry the woman he so passionately loved and desired, but would have to be aware that circumstances, and not her affections, drove her into wedlock.

From what we know about Margaret’s character, if forced to marry John, I venture a guess that she’d have no qualms about expressing her misery and, apart from doing her wifely duties, she’d be unable to form any attachment to him.
What’s more this situation would have been made much more difficult because of Hannah Thornton.

Although the Forsyte family is very close, and meddling in the affairs of the members is almost like a sport, I felt Irene was supported by them till the moment she ran away (and, in some cases, even beyond that point).

This is evident when Irene discusses her failed marriage with June Forsyte and Soames’ mother.

They both, in their own way, try to help Irene in her misery, offering very different solutions to the crises she had found herself in.

Margaret would have been offered no such comfort from the women around her.

Of course, one may argue, that once married Thornton would never treat his wife as Soames did Irene.
I’d hate to give the impression I believe John would exhibit the same possessive behaviour by smothering his wife and forcing himself on her.

The relationship between Thornton and his mother proves that he regarded women as his equal and I think he would extend that to his wife, although he adopted a paternalistic approach to Fanny.

I believe that John would have offered Margaret as much space and freedom as the times and social conventions would have allowed him.

One thing, though, that the men have in common is they’d both find themselves under one roof, and in such close proximity, to the women they desire and yet cannot have.

Perhaps in hopes of warming Margaret’s heart, Thornton would have taken actions which could be deemed beneath him, but I’d like to think he’d wait patiently for Margaret to discard her prejudices and open up to him.

Nevertheless, I truly believe that had it not been for Margaret’s stubborn nature, her disregard for what was appropriate, her recklessness at rejecting a man who was such a good match, she saved them both from a miserable marriage and allowed for events to unfold as they learned more about each other, culminating in some juice kissing and a marriage founded on love.

Had Irene taken a leaf from Margaret’s book and found the courage to reject Soames despite the pressures, I think she would have encountered a like-minded man, an artistic soul with whom she would have formed a happy marriage with.

Despite being Irene Frostbite rather than Forsyte throughout her marriage to Soames, we learn that she is capable of great passion towards the man she loves.

Had she been released from the prison her marriage had locked her into, I truly believe she would’ve learn to think better of Soames and both of them could have moved with their lives rather than linger in painful limbo.

Speaking of the possessive smotherer, undeterred by rejection, he would have probably found another object of desire to add to his collection to stifle, another piece of pretty property that would have complemented his position in society.

More importantly, he would have found a woman willing to subject to his vision of what a marriage should be, one who could settle for being merely his wife and a mother to his sons.

In other words, had Irene and Soames stayed true to their hearts, they would have got their ‘happily ever after’.

So I’m not going to lie, I experienced some mild panic when deciding what to do for my final post of FanstRAvaganza4.
I didn’t worry too much at the beginning of the week; I figured that the Gods of Armi-inspiration would visit me in the night and I’d wake with a fab-tastic idea for post 3!
Well, that didn’t happen.
But I did have a Sir Guy dream, which is never a bad thing! ^^

Anyhoo.
I’d scribbled down an idea in the “maybe” column when I’d first started brainstorming for the Armi lovin’ event:“Some kind of fantasy shop…Armitage stuff”

Now, I like “stuff” as much as the next girl. One can never have enough stuff.
But hang on one cotton-milling minute!
What if there was a magical place where you could buy all kinds of Armitage…stuff?!
From stationery to clothing to utterly random accessories?!Everything with his insanely beautiful FACE on it!
I would be in there every day, stocking up on goodies and collecting points on my Armitage loyalty card.

Okay, so there are already a few awesome Armitage related items on the market.
From Guy of Gisbourne action figures to Thorin Oakenshield lego.
Not to mention the amazing Hot Dwarf King mug a muchly amazing Hot Elf King loving friend bought me for Christmas ^_^
(I talk about my Thorin mug a lot, because I love it a lot)

But this shop…
Oh lordy, THIS shop would stock all of the above AND MORE!

So, without further ado, I invite all of you to the unveiling of

This shop is full of all kinds of Armitage delights!

Where would you like to go first?

Perhaps the make-up department?

SIR GUY has just launched his new range of glorious GUYliners!

Buy your GUYliner today!

You too can smoulder and smirk your heart out!And swoon over all the pretty promotional posters! 😉
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Across from the make-up counter you’ll find all kinds of funky accessories…
All EXCLUSIVE to The Amazing Armi Gift Shop!

May I suggest some adorableJOHN THORNTON NAIL TRANSFERS?!
The handsome cotton mill owner is waiting to adorn your nails!!
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Over in the kitchen department, you can get your mitts onTHIS SPLENDID TOASTER!
It really is fit for a (Hot Dwarf) King!!
It even toasts Thorin’s delicious FACE onto every slice!!YEY!
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Also available is this limited editionLUCAS NORTH LUNCHBOX AND THERMOS!
Take it to work!
Take it to the park!
Take it to bed!YUM!
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Perhaps you’re on the lookout for some charming footwear?
Look no further!
Harry is ready & waiting to keep your feet warm with theseSNUG SLIPPERS!!
Look at his wee happy face!
How could you possibly resist?

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Looking for something a bit more dangerous?
Why not trust Sgt. Porter and take home this niftySWISS “ARMI” KNIFE?!Use it responsibly though, peeps!
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I hope you’ve enjoyed looking around!
Please visit again soon!
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There is something for every jolly Armitage Admirer at theAMAZING ARMI GIFT SHOP!It’s just a shame it only exists…
…in my head! -_-
For now!
Teeheehee!!
😉
*What marvellous items would you like to see Armi’s face (and *ahem* other body parts) on?

I’d quite like a pair of Armi scissors…where his glorious legs are the blades.
Mind you, I’d probably be prone to accidents with those in my hands! -_-

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Well I’ve certainly enjoyed bloggin’ around this week.
Thank you so much for having me, Agzy!!
And thanks to everyonefor welcoming me into the Armitage bloggin’ fold with your lovely, funny and amusing comments!*HIGH-5s all round!*
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